All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 7-6 win over the Angels, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Betts goes deep early and late: Mookie Betts led off the game with a solo homer in the first inning, giving the Sox a 1-0 lead after just five pitches. More than five hours later, in the 15th inning, Betts hit another homer, giving the Red Sox a 7-6 victory. Like the first one, Betts roped the ball out to left. It was the second multi-homer game of the season for Betts, who had a history of big games in Anaheim. Last year, Betts had a three-homer game at Anaheim Stadium and he entered Friday's game with a slugging percentage of .667 at the ballpark, his best mark in any road ballpark. In between the two homers, Betts had five other plate appearances in which he reached base just once, delivering a third-inning single. But the go-ahead homer, his 24th of the season, was the only hit that mattered by that point.
Bullpen has a long night: Short a couple of starters in the rotation, the Red Sox had already decided that Saturday would essentially be a bullpen game, with Brian Johnson starting and being asked to give the Sox at least a few innings. Then, apparently, the Sox liked the idea of a bullpen game so much, they decided to start the practice a night early. Boston got 11 innings out of its bullpen, with seven different relievers going to the mound. In the end, Andrew Cashner, who has flourished since being sent from the rotation to the pen earlier this month, got the win, tossing four shutout innings without a hit. He allowed two walks, but pitched aggressively and consistently got ahead of hitters. Less successful was closer Brandon Workman who was given a two-run lead to close out in the ninth, but failed, walking the first two hitters he faced, only to have them both score to tie the game and force extra innings.
Eovaldi sharp, but short: Nathan Eovaldi had his best outing since April, fanning eight and allowing just one run on three hits. The lone run against him was a solo homer by Brian Goodwin with two out in the second. Eovaldi flashed 98-100 mph with his fastball and was back to using a more varied repertoire, showcasing his splitter especially, along with several breaking balls and a cutter. He got a ton of swing-and-misses on the night, and struck out multiple batters in three different innings. But the problem was, Eovaldi isn't fully stretched out yet following a three-month absence with an elbow surgery and recovery. Additionally, all the strikeouts inflated his pitch count and he needed 81 pitches to get 12 outs. That would have been costly on any night, but in a game that went 15 innings, it was nearly catastrophic.
SECOND GUESS
With a lefty Jose Suarez on the mound for the Angels, Alex Cora opted to start an outfield of Betts in center, J.D. Martinez in right and lefty-hitting Jackie Bradley Jr. on the bench. That made some sense, especially with Martinez contributing a two-run homer in the third and a run-scoring double in the seventh. But with the Sox leading by two in the ninth, Cora strangely kept Bradley on the bench and Martinez in right. That backfired in a big way when Martinez bobbled a single by Albert Pujols, enough to allow the tying run to score from first base. The smart move would have been to insert Bradley into center and shift Betts to right.
ONE UP
Darwinzon Hernandez: The young lefty continued to impress in relief, giving the Sox two overpowering innings in which he fanned five hitters, flashing a 97 mph fastball that overwhelmed Angels hitters.
ONE DOWN
Jackie Bradley Jr.: After finally coming off the bench to pinch-run for Martinez in the 14th, Bradley then inexcusably got caught leaning the wrong way off second base and, representing the potential go-ahead run in scoring position, was picked off.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- The game was the second-longest of the season for the Sox, who dropped a 17-inning game in Minnesota earlier this season.
- Mookie Betts had his second multi-homer game of the season.
- The Red Sox have now homered in 19 straight games.
- The blown save by Brandon Workman in the ninth was the 25th this season for the Red Sox.